


placeholders

by harezora



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-05
Updated: 2015-04-05
Packaged: 2018-03-21 09:00:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3686244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harezora/pseuds/harezora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Until they could be reunited with their precious people someday, interdimensional counterparts as placeholders were more than enough to them for now.</p><p>Alternatively, not-Ruri and not-Yuuto visit Shun at the hospital.</p><p>Response to the 'placeholder' prompt of Arc-V 30 Day Challenge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	placeholders

**Author's Note:**

> Uh hi here's my first Yugioh Arc V fic? I hope I'm doing fine... Originally I was debating between writing Shun/Yuuya, Shun/Serena or Yuuya/Serena for this prompt. But since I could not decide, I decided to just include all three of them... Which was also why this fic ended up so long. 
> 
> I hope Shun/Yuuya/Serena becomes an established trio. They are from different dimensions so them getting along would sort of be a symbol of harmony in this interdimensional war...
> 
> Otherwise, with those definitely broken ribs recently, Shun really needs to get to a hospital asap in canon. According to Google, broken ribs can potentially cause lung puncture and infection as complications. And without surgery, it will take weeks to heal. Actually it's more of an excuse to put Shun on a bed or I don't think he'll actually listen much. ;A;
> 
> I also included some headcanon about Yuuri being close to Serena before Academia happened since we don't know much about him. I like the theory that he's been brainwashed because all the other male/female counterparts from other dimensions were close. 
> 
> Finally, I hope you like this? I spent 3 days writing this so yeah.

‘Hey, looks like he’s waking up!’

‘Uh, how are you feeling?’

These concerned voices were the first thing that Shun had registered after a long dreamless sleep. His head felt fuzzy and he felt too tired to open his eyes.

‘Ruri… Yuuto…’ He mumbled the names of his sister and his best friend who he thought he heard. He should wake up and tell them that he is alright. Wanting to see them, Shun sat on his bed as quickly as he could.

About to reach out to Ruri and Yuuto, Shun saw a boy with messy mop of green and red hair. Next to him, was a girl with blue hair set in a ponytail. As he tried to focus on his current surroundings. Shun stopped his arm and put it down, as his heart sank as his visitors were not who he wanted to see.

Of course it could not be Ruri and Yuuto. Ruri was taken away a few years ago and Yuuto had recently gone missing, leaving Shun all by himself. He had expected to fight alone from then onwards.

However, right now, he was surrounded by the interdimensional counterparts of Ruri and Yuuto, Serena and Yuuya. Was this some kind of cruel joke to remind him of what he had lost? Or were they some kind of placeholders of his precious people?

At the sight of Shun’s sudden actions. Yuuya and Serena looked at each other hesitantly, unsure on what to do. Maybe it would be better if it was one of them visited Shun instead of both of them. However, neither wanted to face Shun alone, given their situations of being accused of stealing Yuuto’s card and being from the Fusion Dimension.

A sudden shot of pain hit Shun around his chest area and he grimaced. At least it felt much better than before. ‘Tsk. You shouldn’t be moving this much if you want to get better,’ Serena chided Shun on moving around so much while Yuuya went to pour a glass of water for him.

As he gulped down the water, Shun’s head started to clear from the anaesthetic induced daze and he started to remember what landed him on this hospital bed.

The fall from the stairs during his duel with Sora left Shun in intense pain for the rest of the Battle Royale. After the championship ended, LDS’s medical team diagnosed him with multiple rib fractures and he needed surgery.

Of course, he rejected the offer. As the LDS was mostly mobilised to settle the aftermath of the Maiami Championship, this would be the best time to escape from Akaba Reiji’s control.

Unfortunately, Reiji had anticipated that much. On the night before the surgery, Shun had tried to escape from the quarters designated for the Lancers. As quickly as he ran, one of the Lancers managed to shock him with a stun gun. The last thing he remembered was seeing a pair of goggles and a muttered apology from his attacker.

Just as Shun thought about that incident, Yuuya broke the silence. ‘About last night, it was uh, Reiji’s orders. I didn’t want to do it,’ he said with a huge sigh. As if being forced to join the Lancers was not bad enough, he was ordered to attack someone that he was told to think of as a ‘comrade’.

Yuuya was more than upset with Reiji, but since he lost the duel, he had no choice but to follow Reiji’s orders. Not only that, there was also another order given to him and Serena to keep an eye on Shun, since he was not exactly easy to deal with. To become placeholders of Yuuto and Ruri, or so as Reiji said. This having interdimensional counterparts thing really sucked.

‘Also, were you thinking of fighting Academia even with such injuries? You might not be as lucky the next time. What if something bad happened to you?,’ Serena added. After helping Shun in the Battle Royale, he better not let her efforts go to waste. She still wanted to hear more about what exactly the Academia has done to the other dimensions.

‘Nothing. Nobody would miss me. Those who care about me are all gone,’ Shun clenched his fists in anger as he thought about everything and everyone he had lost. He had nothing left, so nothing will happen if he were to be gone.

Yuuya stood up abruptly. ‘That’s not true! I do. So does Serena. I mean, we’re visiting you right now,’ he said as Serena nodded. ‘There’s the other Lancers too. Maybe Akaba Reiji, to some extent in his own weird way. And Yuuto, he… he’s still here... somehow.’

‘Wh-what?’ That was all Shun could utter. If he had the strength to do so, he would have been grabbing Yuuya by now for mentioning Yuuto. Looking at Shun’s expression, Yuuya and Serena were quite thankful that Shun was unable to move much right now.

Shaking, Yuuya told Shun about everything that had happened to him. About how Yuuto’s soul was residing within him since the duel with Yuugo, and about the times Yuuya had went berserk.

Whenever Yuuya felt like he could not continue, Serena tried to support him by putting her hand on his shoulder. It was the least Serena could do for him, considering that it was her deal with Yuzu that sort of led to the unknown whereabouts of Yuuya’s best friend.

Now, Yuuya had finished talking. Serena added her recount of her meeting with Yuzu. Shun could see Yuuya’s face become more crestfallen whenever Yuzu was mentioned. That anguished look reminded Shun a lot of Yuuto when Ruri was taken away.

There was yet another long silence when Yuuya and Serena had finished filling Shun in. Seeing their sad faces made Shun feel bad although he knows he should not be concerned for them. They may have the same faces as Yuuto and Ruri, but they were not his loved ones. To him, they were just strangers. He also could not fathom why so many people who did not know him had helped him recently.

Still, he could not help but sympathise with Yuuya. He knew that the feeling of losing a precious person too well, and he did not want to see that frown on a face that looked so much like Yuuto.

‘Sakaki, I’m sorry to hear about Hiiragi.’ Shun was surprised at what he had said. Was he getting softer, or was he just too tired keep up the tough front he had always put up? So many things had happened since he went to Standard. He hated depending on others, but it was impossible to act tough when he lay on a bed. This was really the worst.

He had expected to be all alone since Yuuto disappeared. But now that he had company, he found himself appreciating it a little. Although it was not the company he had wanted, it did feel nice to him. 

‘And uh, thanks for visiting and telling me everything. We were all blinded by lies and ignorance, weren’t we?’ Shun knew that if things had went a bit differently, if he continued to assume things and believed in lies, he would have hated Yuuya and Serena. The same might have happened to them.

Looking at the two visiting him, Shun had realised that Yuuya and Serena seemed to be alright with each other, although there was still an obvious sense of uneasiness between them. It could not be helped, given the current situation. He wondered if Yuuya saw Serena as a placeholder for Yuzu, like how he saw Yuuya and Serena as placeholders for Yuuto and Ruri.

‘Indeed we were. But now we know better. And that’s why the three of us can be in this very room and talk to each other now despite from being different dimensions. If only this could happen to the rest of the world…,’ Serena remarked thoughtfully with her hand cupping her chin. It was difficult for her to unlearn the beliefs that the Academia had indoctrinated in her for so long. She still had to constantly remind herself that her summoning method was not superior to the others and that Shun was not ‘XYZ scum’ to her.

‘And then everyone would smile again. Duels are for making people happy, not for war. I’ll bring these smiles back with my duels, like what Yuuto said.’ Yuuya gave a slight smile while his eyes shone with determination. He may have lost himself a few times and recently, his best friend, but he will believe in the words of his counterpart and his father. And the more he knew about Shun, he also wanted to make Shun smile.

To Shun who knew war too well, these words from a naïve newcomer to war and a soldier who had been locked up for a long time, do not hold much weight. But something in him wants to believe in them and that there is still hope out there.

‘You know, it’s been a long time since I last heard that from Yuuto and thought about peace. I don’t know whether this is even possible after so long. You better make it happen then, since you said so,’ Shun narrowed his eyes and stared at Yuuya, still wondering if he should take those words seriously.

‘Alright, I’ll promise, to bring back Ruri for you while I’m definitely going to find Yuzu. As for Yuuto, we’ll somehow figure it out. To do so, I will need your strength. I can’t do this by myself. It’s like what Reiji had said. I hate to agree with him, but he’s right. We have to do this together,’ Yuuya huffed as he thought about Reiji. One day he will defeat that guy. And actually get to punch him unlike the last time when Reiji stopped his punch. He extended his right hand towards Shun while lightly nudging Serena with the side of his left arm.

‘Me too?’ Serena asked. It had not occurred to her that Yuuya intended to include her in this promise. She was still getting used to the whole idea of fighting together with comrades. During her Academia days, she had always yearned to do so but was never allowed to. Now that she had the opportunity to as a Lancer, she was glad, but she found it difficult to think of the others as equals.

‘Yes. Even the people from Fusion Dimension should smile too. I want to bring back Sora’s smile although I failed to last time…’ Yuuya had missed his former friend, and he still wants to believe in Sora. All the times they had spent together, those smiles could not be fake, right?

Hearing Yuuya’s words, Serena thought of Yuuri. Maybe one day she would tell Yuuya and Shun about him, now was not the time to do so. How was Yuuri doing now? When she first saw Yuuya, she knew  that he was Yuuri’s counterpart of this dimension. It had been years ever since Yuuri and she were drafted into Academia. That was also the last time they saw each other.

From what Yuzu and Shun told her about Academia’s horrifying deeds on the other dimensions along with Academia rumours on Yuuri being on the front lines, she had a very bad feeling. Now that Serena was no longer restrained, there was a possibility that she could bring back the friend she used to know.

‘Then… it’s a promise,’ stated Serena, while Yuuya and Shun nodded.

The three people from different dimensions interlocked their hands around each other’s wrists to signify their promise. Without the presence of those they held dear, it was as if part of them had broken. However, they had each other now. It was much better than suffering alone and letting further damage be done.

Just like how Shun’s broken ribs needed surgery to heal faster, a lonely person needed company to alleviate the pain of their loss.

Until they could be reunited with their precious people someday, interdimensional counterparts as placeholders were more than enough to them for now.


End file.
